Welcome to Blerd Radio's first podcast of 2015. In our new year debut (never mind it being mid-February) the team of Big Money, The Packet Man, Dr. Z and Michael Parr discuss the music and influence of what is commonly known as the "neo-soul" era.

Particularly in light of D'Angelo's Black Messiah album's suprise release and rapturous reception, we though it would be a good idea to talk about the era he birthed, in a way. Here are some related topics we felt it necessary to discuss over the course of an hour (and some change).

-The birth of "neo-soul"

A marketing concept developed as a reaction to the twin powers of "quiet storm" (Luther Vandross, Anita Baker) and "new jack swing" (Bell Biv DeVoe, Bobby Brown) designed to create music of a more organic nature than those two sub-genres were known for.

First artists that could fall under the neo-soul umbrella; the British acid-jazz movement (Brand New Heavies, Soul II Soul, Jamiroquai), Me'shell Ndegeocello, Tony Toni Tone.

-The King & Queen of "neo-soul"; D'Angelo & Erykah Badu and the impact that they made on the scene.